Liberals See A Trap After The Sequester — What really scares progressives isn't the automatic spending cuts; it's the grand compromise that may replace them. “Entitlements may get ensnared when we go to an alternate fix,” says Rep. Nadler. — Image by AP

Obama Signals He'd Let Cuts Stand to Avoid U.S. Shutdown — WASHINGTON — President Obama and Congressional leaders emerged from a White House meeting on Friday without resolution to the budget impasse, meaning that the across-the-board spending cuts that take effect Friday could remain in place for weeks if not months.

Lawmaker Makes Lewd Remark to Teenage Girl — Connecticut state Rep. Ernest Hewett (D) made an inappropriate remark to a 17 year old girl testifying about a program that helped her overcome her shyness and get over her fear of snakes, the New London Day reports.

A Cheer or Two for Sequestration — From left, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, and House Speaker John Boehner speak at a news conference on Tuesday in Washington. — A lot of liberals I read are very hot to trot with the idea that Congress should just repeal sequestration tout court.

President Obama's real agenda — “Federal prosecutors will have to close cases and let criminals go,” President Obama said last week, flanked by uniformed firefighters and law-enforcement officers. “Tens of thousands of parents will have to scramble to find child care for their kids.”

Ben Bernanke, Hippie — We're just a few weeks away from a milestone I suspect most of Washington would like to forget: the start of the Iraq war. What I remember from that time is the utter impenetrability of the elite prowar consensus. If you tried to point out that the Bush administration …

Duke Energy won't be repaid $10 million from DNC — Duke Energy won't be repaid the $10 million line of credit it guaranteed for Charlotte to host last year's Democratic National Convention, the company confirmed Thursday. — As the credit line came due, Duke made official what it had signaled …

Horsemeat scandal: Four new products test positive — Nearly 2,000 tests for horsemeat have been carried out by British retailers — Four beef products sold by Bird's Eye, Taco Bell and catering supplier Brakes have been found to contain horse DNA, the Food Standards Agency says.

Mayor Bloomberg: Don't Panic About the Sequester — Mayor Bloomberg in Washington earlier this week. (Photo: Getty) — At midnight tonight, a bevy of steep spending cuts will hit the federal government unless Congress and the White House agree to an alternative deficit-cutting proposal.

Hail Armageddon — “The worst-case scenario for us,” a leading anti-budget-cuts lobbyist told The Post, “is the sequester hits and nothing bad really happens.” — Think about that. Worst case? That a government drowning in debt should cut back by 2.2 percent — and the country survives.